Filament feeding



Feb. 14, 1967 R. H. BALCH FILAMENT FEEDING 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 OriginalFiled March 13, 1959 Feb. 14, 1967 R. H. BALCH 3,303,982

FILAMENT FEEDING Original Filed March 13, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UnitedStates Patent M FILAMENT FEEDING Ralph H. Balch, Charlotte, N.C.,assignor to Celanese Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Originalapplication May 13, 1959, Ser. No. 812,954, now

Patent N0. 3,151,021, dated Sept. 29, 1964. Divided and this applicationApr. 29, 1964, Ser. No. 368,438

11 Claims. (Cl. 226-97) This invention relates to filament feeding andpositioning, more particularly to means for continuously providing aplurality of spaced filaments.

This application is a division of application Serial Number 812,954,filed May 13, 1959, now United States Patent 3,151,021.

In certain manufacturing procedures, such as the making of reinforcedpaper, it is necessary to supply continuously a plurality of spacedfilaments, i.e. a warp. The job of starting up the equipment is timeconsuming in that all of the filaments must be manually threaded up. Inaddition, in the event of breakage or other interruption of the supplyof any one of the filaments it is necessary to stop the equipment topermit reinsertion of the broken filament end or of a new filament.Additionally where a plurality of yarn ends are fed to continuousproduction process equipment, as required in the production of a desiredreinforcing matrix, it is generally desirable to be able to vary thespacing between the matrix components, so as to permit differentqualities and sizes of material to be made by the production equipment.

It is with the above problems in mind that the present means have beenevolved, means implementing the continuous feeding of a plurality ofspaced filaments from a supply of said filaments to a continuousproduction process. The novel feeding means minimizes the occurrence ofbreaks in the filament, eliminates the need for stopping the productionprocess in order to re-insert an interrupted filament and also permitsthe selective adjustment of the spacing between the fed filaments. Theterm filament is here employed to designate any elongate material suchas yarn, thread, fibers or the like,

whether synthetic or natural, and whether twisted or not.

It is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide improvedfilament feeding means.

Another object of the invention is to provide filament feeding meansserving to minimize the occurrence of filament breakage.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus for makingfilament-reinforced paper continuously irrespective of discontinuitiesin the filaments.

An additional object of the invention is to provide feeding means forfeeding a plurality of adjustably spaced filament ends.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an improved process andapparatus for introducing a filament to a continuous production process.

These and other objects of the invention which will become apparent inthe following disclosure and claims are achieved by provision of novelfilament maintaining means supporting a supply of filament packages incombination with a pneumatic conveyor such as an aspirator for pickingup a filament end in a fluid such as air, and means guiding the airalong with the filament end to a selectively adjustable delivery point.The filament supply maintaining means comprises a creel on which aplurality of pairs of filament package supports are mounted. Arranged onthe creel are a plurality of aspirators, one for each pair of filamentpackages. Upon passage of air through an aspirator a filament endsupplied to the aspirator will be sucked in and carried along with theair to means guiding the air stream to a selected delivery point, saidguiding means comprising a flexible tube formed of 3,303,982 PatentedFeb. 14, 1967 materials such as polyvinyl plastics, polyolefins such aspolyethylene, polyamides, polyesters, or the like. The free ends of thetubes are preferably arranged to be supported by an expander comprisinga plurality of hinged panels Which permits selective adjustment of thespacing between the filaments fed by the tubes.

A primary feature of the invention resides in the arrangement of the airand filament guiding tube in combination with the creel, suctionpick-up, and expander so that the passage of a filament from the creelto the desired delivery point is protected, minimizing filamentbreakage.

Another feature of the invention resides in the fact that the use offlexible tubes for guiding the filament to the point of delivery permitspositioning of the creel at a distance remote from the delivery pointproviding for a flexibility of installation.

Another feature of the invention resides in the aforedescribed feedmeans in combination with a papermaking apparatus to permit continuousproduction of reinforced paper without interruption even where one ormore of the reinforcing filaments temporarily runs out.

The specific structural details of a preferred embodiment of theinvention, and their mode of functioning, will be made most manifest andparticularly pointed out in clear, concise, and exact terms inconjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 represents a schematic perspective view with parts broken away ofthe novel filament feeding and positioning equipment;

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a machine for making paperreinforced with filament supplied thereto by the equipment of FIG. 1;and FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view through the aspirator shown in FIG.1 employed for introducing a filament from the filament packagessupported on the creel to the guiding tubes.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing like numerals in thevarious figures will be taken to designate like parts. As best seen inFIG. 1 the novel feeding and positioning means 10 comprise meansmaintaining a supply of the filaments to be fed, in the form of creel11. Creel 11 as illustrated comprises a plurality of spaced struts 12between which a plurality of vertically spaced cross pieces 13 extend.Angle irons are found most suitable in the fabrication of these struts12 and cross pieces 13. A plurality of pairs of filament packagesupports in the form of pins 14 are arranged on the cross pieces 13 withone pin 14 of each pair preferably arranged on cross pieces 13 onopposite sides of strut 12.

Supported on the creel in any suitable fashion by means of straps or thelike are aspirators 15 one for each pair of pins 14 (only some beingshown in FIG. 1). As best seen in FIG. 3, the aspirators 15 eachcomprise an air inlet nozzle 16 for directing a stream of compressed airto a chamber 17. The air is conveyed to each nozzle 16 by an air supplyhose 18 coupled to the nozzle 16 by means of hose nipple 19 or the like.All the hoses 18 are connected through a valving device 20 with a mastersupply hose 21 so that air can be supplied selectively to one or more ofthe aspirators 15. If desired, however, a single hose 18 may be providedselectively to be attached to whichever aspirator 15 needs servicing.

Each aspirator 15 also includes an air outlet 22 coupled to a flexibleguide tube 23 and a filament inlet tube 24 extending into chamber 17 andterminating adjacent air outlet 22. Each tube 23, one for each aspirator15, is trained along struts 12, and suitably secured thereto by means ofappropriate fastening devices such as straps or the like. The free endof each tube 23 is thereafter secured to adjustable selective spacingmeans in the form v of an expander 25.

Expander 25 comprises a plurality of panel members 26 connected byhinges 27 and formed with spaced aligned apertures 28 through each ofwhich the free end of one tube 23 may extend. The hinging between panels26 permits adjustment of the lateral spacing between the filamentsexiting from the tubes 23. One can readily see from an examination ofthe operation of expander 25 that as the angle between any two adjacentpanel members 26 is decreased from 180 degrees that the lateral spacingbetween filaments is also decreased. Expander 25 is suitably mounted inany conventional mechanically expedient fashion for positioning adjacentthe nip rolls 29 of the equipment to which the filaments are to be fed,as further shown in FIGJZ.

Operation The aforedescribed structure is designed to facilitatepositioning thereof in combination with a variety of productionequipment to which filaments must be fed. This is implemented by theflexibility of guiding tubes 23, and the fact that they can be made ofany desired length. The creel 11 is suitably positioned in any availablefloor space adjacent the process equipment to be supplied withfilaments. Thereafter expander 25 with its associated tubes 23 isarranged adjacent the nip rolls 29 of the process equipment. As isapparent, expander 25 is sufiiciently close to nip rolls 29 so that anyfilaments emerging from tubes 23 will be caught up by the rolls 29.

The creel is loaded with filament packages containing filaments of thetype desired for introduction into the process. Upon each pair of pins14 two appropriate filament supply packages, which for sake of clarityare not shown, such as bobbins, cones, cheeses, or the like arearranged. The beginning of the filament 30 on one package of each pairis held near filament inlet 24, as is more clearly shown in FIGURE 3 ofthe drawing, and compressed air is selectively supplie'di to hose 18. Inpassing around the inner end of tube 24 within chamber 17 and then outoutlet 22 into and through tube 23, the compressed air sucks thefilament 30 into the tube 23. The rolls 29 are not running and aretemporarily separated so that the filament end falls over the lower rollin the space between the rolls. The compressed air is successively andselectively supplied to the other hoses 18, and other filaments 30 aresuccessively and selectively positioned adjacent each inlet 24 at eachaspirator until the full warp of filaments 30 lies over the lower niproll. Nip rolls 29 are brought together and started rotating, supplyingthe reinforcing filaments 30 to the production equipment to whichfilaments are to be fed.

The end of the filament on one package of each pair is tied to thebeginning of the filament on the other package so that upon exhaustionof one of the filament packages, the other may commence feeding. Anoperator who periodically services the creel will note the empty packageand replace it with a full package, the beginning of which is tied tothe end 'of the running package to provide a 7 continuous filamentsupply.

In the event of a break or other discontinuity in one filament it is notnecessary to stop the process to reinsert the broken end. Instead thebroken end is brought near the filament inlet 24 of its respectiveaspirator 15, compressed air is applied to the resective hose 18 and thebroken filament is carried to, and then between, rolls 29 to restore thedesired running conditions. As is apparent from the drawing, thedisplacement of the individual panel members 26 with respect to rolls 29will determine the spacing between the filaments, the greater the anglebetween'panel members 216 the greater the spacing between the filamentsat their points of entry between rolls 29.

The invention is hereinafter more particularly described a incombination with paper-making apparatus but is not intended to belimited thereto. A paper-making slurry is fed to a large tank 31 whichmeters it in conventional manner as a mat 32 onto a screen conveyor 33.Excess suction boxes 34. As shown schematically in FIGURE 2, the tubes23 can discharge their filaments onto the conveyor 33 near where theslurry is deposited. The filaments can be either up ermost or lowermostdepending upon whether they reach the conveyor after or before theslurry and in FIGURE 2 they are lowermost, i.e., be tween the slurry andconveyor. From the conveyor the mat 32 is calendered by rolls 35 andfurther processedin conventional manner. It will be seen that since thefilaments are conveyed through flexible tubes to the point ofincorporation, the tubes need not be perfectly parallel. This permitsthe creel 11 to be located at one side of the paper-making machine andsome distance away from it, which is particularly advantageous in apaper mill. The tubes can be made as long as necessary, taking intoconsideration the amount of friction between the filaments and tubes andthe strength of the filaments.

The novel structure may be employed in a variety of situations requiringa plurality of spaced filaments. Thus the structure may be utilized inconjunction with, in addition to the fabrication of paper laminates asabove described, the fabrication of plastic laminates, and in theproduction of non-woven fabrics. As illustrated the novel structure hasparticular applicability in conjunction with the provision ofreinforcing yarns such as high tenacity regenerated cellulose in theproduction of laminated kraft paper. While the space available to feedfilaments into the forming zone of conventional kraft paper makingequipment may be limited, use of the novel filament feeding apparatushere disclosed permits creel 11 to be arranged at any convenient pointeither on the side or to the rear of the paper machine. Positioning ofthe expander permits the ready feeding of the filaments to the kraftpaper making machine. The spacing between the filaments may be adjustedby varyingthe angles between the panel members 26 and the filaments fedare protected in transit by guide tubes 23.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is givenmerely by way of illustration and that many variations may be madetherein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention What I desire to secure by Letters Patentis: p

1. Means implementing the continuous feeding of a plurality of spacedfilaments, said means comprising filament supply means, filament endpick-up means adjacent said supply means, filament guiding means coupledto said pick-up means, and adjustable spacing means supporting thedelivery end of said guiding means to permit the selective spacing ofthe delivered filaments.

2. Means as in claim 1 in which said filament guiding means includes aflexible tube through which each filament is guided, whereby thedischarge of said guiding means may be adjustably positioned withrespect to said supply means. 7

3. Means for feeding elongate material, said means comprising meansmaintaining a supply of the material,

pneumatic conveying means adjacent the supply of material, means forsupplying compressed air to said conveyor means 'for transport of thematerial, guiding means coupled to said conveying means for carrying theair stream along with the end of the material to a discharge at aselected delivery point and adjustable spacing means supporting thedischarge end of said guiding means to a permit the selective spacing ofthe delivered elongate aspirator means, guiding means coupled to each ofsaid aspirator means respectively for carrying each air stream alongwith its respective filament end to a discharge at a selected deliverypoint adjacent the delivery points of the other air streams and theirrespective filaments and adjustable spacing means supporting thedelivery end of the guiding means whereby the filaments are laterallyspaced with respect to one another.

5. Means as in claim 4 in which said means for supplying compressed airto said aspirator means selectively includes an air hose for eachaspirator means, a master air supply hose, and valving means forselectively connecting said master air supply hose with any one or moreof said air hoses.

6. Means for providing a Warp of spaced filaments, comprising aplurality of pairs of supports for filament packages, an aspirator foreach pair of supports, means for supplying compressed air to saidaspirators thereby to draw an end of a filament into the respectiveaspirator, a plurality of guides respectively coupled to said aspiratorsfor carrying each air stream along with its respective filament end, andexpander means adjustably supporting said guides to permit variation ofthe relative disposition of the filaments issuing from said guides.

7. Apparatus as in claim 6 in which said expander comprises a pluralityof panel members having apertures through which said guides may pass,and hinges connecting said members to permit adjustment of the angletherebetween and thus of the lateral distances between filaments.

8. Means for providing a warp of spaced filaments, said means comprisingmeans maintaining a plurality of filament packages, aspirator meansadjacent said packages and at least equal in number to the number offilaments to be provided, an air hose for each aspirator means, a masterair supply hose, valving means for selectively connecting said masterair supply hose with at least one of said air hoses, guiding meanscoupled to each of said aspirator means respectively for carrying eachfilament and its respective air stream to a predetermined dischargepoint, and adjustable spacing means operatively associated with saidguide means whereby the lateral spacing between the filaments in thewarp of spaced filaments is determined.

9. Method of supplying a plurality of filaments in a predeterminedspaced relationship from a supply means at a distance remote from theirdelivery point comprising:

(a) forwarding said filaments to a selectively adjustable delivery pointat which point the filaments are in a fixed spaced relationship; and

(b) forwarding said filaments from said delivery point into the nipformed by a pair of rolls whereby the lateral spacing between thefilaments is changed.

10. Means according to claim 8 wherein the guide means are flexibleplastic tubes and the spacing means comprises a plurality of panelshaving apertures therein in each of which is located a guiding tube,said panels being interconnected by hinges whereby the panels areselectively adjustable with respect to one another and the spacingbetween the filaments is thereby determined.

11. Expander for selective adjustment of spacing between a plurality offilaments comprising a plurality of panel members hingedly connectedtogether, each of said panel members having therein. a plurality ofspaced aligned apertures through which said filaments pass, the spacingbetween the filaments being adjusted by varying the angles between thepanel members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,481,197 9/1949Caille 226-97 2,899,159 8/1959 Leblang 24868 X 2,971,243 2/1961 Burns.2,971,683 2/ 1961 Paulsen 226-97 3,039,170 6/1962 Marshall.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

HADD S. LANE, Examiner.

1. MEANS IMPLEMENTING THE CONTINUOUS FEEDING OF A PLURALITY OF SPACEDFILAMENTS, SAID MEANS COMPRISING FILAMENT SUPPLY MEANS, FILAMENT ENDPICK-UP MEANS ADJACENT SAID SUPPLY MEANS, FILAMENT GUIDING MEANS COUPLEDTO SAID PICK-UP MEANS, AND ADJUSTABLE SPACING MEANS SUPPORTING THEDELIVERY END OF SAID GUIDING MEANS TO PERMIT THE SELECTIVE SPACING OFTHE DELIVERED FILAMENTS.